Lottery Programs: Beyond Wings and Straightjackets

Since lottery programs were launched in 1993, HOPE was given wings; Georgia Pre-K was kept in a straight jacket. What should we expect for the future? Better yet, what should we demand?

After 1993, the legislature expanded the HOPE program almost every year to cover more audiences and higher tuitions. The original target was new high school grads, then they added all graduates before 1993, a second chance for those whose grades fell below the required “B,” unlimited HOPE grants at the tech schools, special military scholarships, and home-schooled students. Private college scholarships were quadrupled, and the Board of Regents raised tuition regularly, assured it would be covered by HOPE. When lottery revenues were forecast to flatten out, the legislature tinkered with the definition of high school GPAs and course requirements and limited total college credit hours to try to control spending.

Pre-K, on the other hand, was immobilized almost from the start. Our “universal” program actually limited the number of kids to be served. As many as 10,000 4-year-olds have waited for an opening. Qualified providers requested 13,070 additional slots in 2010; 11,000 were denied. Even more egregious, while tuition went up in colleges, we ignored the parallel increase in costs of Pre-K. “Tuition,” the per child reimbursement for Pre-K, has been essentially flat for 15 years! We required higher credentials for Pre-K teachers but we didn’t pay for them. Another audience in great need, much like those pre-1993 high school grads, were 3-year-olds, especially disadvantaged children. The legislature has ignored them.

Neither unfettered funding for HOPE nor constricted funding for Pre-K will yield the results Georgia needs for education and economic success. Please, Governor Deal, limit the changes to lottery programs this year. We need an open discussion and a clear vision, informed by solid research and Georgia’s identifiable needs. We don’t need the pressure and politics of the legislative session to drive these decisions.